Award-winning dance duo Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple are debuting a new work, *Deepfake*, that explores the complex and shifting nature of truth in the digital age through the lens of a televised interview. The piece is set to premiere at DanceEast in Ipswich on September 25, followed by performances at Sadler’s Wells East in London from October 1 to 3.
*Deepfake* unfolds within a green-screen studio where a composed journalist conducts a high-stakes interview with a politician. The scenario echoes real-world media encounters, inspired by notable moments such as Jeremy Paxman’s 1997 repetitive questioning of Michael Howard and the contentious Newsnight interview with former Prince Andrew. Wright and Runacre-Temple, collaborating with writer Jeff James, drew on these and the prevalent evasiveness of contemporary politicians to craft a narrative centered on media performance and political accountability.
The production employs a blend of live camera work and innovative stagecraft. Four cameras will film the interview live, projecting both the immediate actions on stage and a manipulated version with digitally altered backgrounds and effects, revealing multiple layers of reality simultaneously. Seven dancers dressed in green-screen suits will interact with the environment, manipulating digital elements to enhance the illusion, though they will vanish in the final edit seen by the audience.
Runacre-Temple notes that while green-screen technology is considered somewhat outdated compared to the hyper-realistic AI deepfakes emerging today, it lends an intentionally playful and slightly surreal quality to the performance. The work probes how deepfake technology challenges viewers’ ability to distinguish fact from fabrication, fostering a climate where truth itself becomes suspect. This tension is underscored in scenes where a politician could deny wrongdoing by dismissing incriminating images as fakes, highlighting the erosion of trust in visual evidence.
Rehearsals witnessed by the visiting writer emphasized a return to fundamentals, with Wright noting the importance of focusing on choreography without reliance on technology. The two lead dancers, Rebecca Bassett-Graham, formerly of Wayne McGregor’s company, and Kennedy Junior Muntanga, who has worked with Akram Khan, embody the dual roles of interviewer and politician. Their performances combine spoken text delivered in voiceover with precise, rapid movements that mirror the charged dynamics of an adversarial conversation—ranging from charm and cooperation to accusation and evasion.
Every gesture and glance is tightly choreographed, with particular attention to timing and eye contact, especially in scenes involving the green screen, where any misalignment risks breaking the illusion of the staged reality. Wright describes the dancers’ technical prowess as a metaphor for the polished performances politicians deliver during media interviews.
Jess and Morgs have remained deliberately tight-lipped about the resolution of the confrontation depicted in *Deepfake*, expressing the hope that the work will engage audiences with a sense of surprise and playful mischief as it challenges perceptions of authenticity in a media-saturated world.